What EVE's virtual economy can teach us about real economies

The work of Dr. Eyjólfur Guðmundsson has been discussed quite a bit online, but offline citizens of our planet have probably never heard of his work monitoring EVE Online's incredible economy. Scientific American aims to change that with an article entitled "What Can Virtual-World Economists Tell Us about Real-World Economies?" Dr. Guðmundsson lays out the basics of his work for folks unfamiliar with online economies, explaining how the vagaries of spaceflight can effect the price of, say, light drones or mining lasers.

It's probably a bit low-key for hardcore EVE players, and even folks who have played a fantasy title's Auction House will have the gist. Still, it's always interesting to listen to 'Eyjó' hold forth on online economics. The passion the people behind EVE feel for their micro-world is tangible, and it's great to see some of that passion being made available to the masses.